House passes bill to prevent gun violence in schools in rare bipartisan vote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to increase federal funding of programs to help schools and local law enforcement prevent gun violence following last month’s Florida school shooting that resulted in 17 deaths.

People supporting gun control attend a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing about legislative proposals to improve school safety in the wake of the mass shooting at the high school in Parkland, Florida, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By a rare bipartisan vote of 407-10, the House passed the bill, which does not allow any of the $50 million to be authorized annually to be used to arm teachers or other school officials.

The full Senate has not yet considered the bill. The White House has said President Donald Trump would sign the bill if Congress presents it to him.